Coming from a tire shop owner I know: "Brigestone bought Firestone with the intension of improving the brand and resolving longstanding mfr. problems. As it worked out, Bridgestaone didn't lift Firestone, Firestone dragged Bridgestone down." I don't know how that all works out but Firestone, for me, wore out fast on my cars. Toyo, Bridgestone, BF and Michelin(always) were never a disapointment. Dunlop rain tires were almost dangerious for cornering on my Lez but the cheaper Mich works like a race tire in the dry.

I think the China imports should hav a good model in there somewhere. Kumho gets rave reviews for auto applications. Anybody got info on them. They are the cheapest out there.

Thanks,

John

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"An uneducated vote is a treasonous act more damaging than any treachery of the battlefield.The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”—Pla

Personally- I would always run a quality tire like a Michelin, BFGoodrich (made by Michelin), Toyo, Bridgestone, etc in front. On the drivers, you could get away with a much cheaper tire. We have a tire man selling his own Chinese tire, with his name on it for about $280 per tire. Worth considering. Personally, I have Michelins all the way around on my bus and car. Good Luck, TomC

I met a "trucker" yesterday night. He has much tires in relative good condition. He changes tires each year because winter condition in my country (safety drive). The "old" tire are good (I think) for us (motorhome) but that's a 11-22.5. My tire's coach are 12-22.5.

So, in front, the tire are new (12-22.5)

My question is: Can I put the 11-22.5 on my coach (tag axle and drive axle)?

Several of the large tire manufacturers several years ago went in together and built a tire plant. none of these tire manufacturers has any interest in the other it was done purely from a money standpoint.

now every 4 months or so they completey retool to build the next brands tires for 4 months of so.

Doug, In my job, I work specifically with the tire industry and am scratching my head trying to think of the site you might be describing. Is it here in North America, or overseas somewhere?

Here in the US and Canada, there have been very few new tire plants built in the last 20 years. Also, it is not uncommon for two tire companies to undertake a joint venture, but I don't recall one involving more than two. When they do, the production is performed concurrently, and I've never seen a round-robin retooling schedule.

The plant that comes closest to your description, that I can come up with, is the Continental Tire facility in Mt Vernon, IL. It is actually an old General Tire site, but with all the expansions, it gives the impression of being new. They have a joint venture with Toyo, there as well. But there is no scheduled change over from one brand being manufactured to another. They build both every day.

By the way, is the Toyo smell thing something from the past? I bought my 4104 with six Toyos on it and never noticed any smell. The tires were great and served me well. Last year, I stood in a warehouse full of Toyo tires and the smell was no different than any other tire warehouse. Can anybody tell me how long it has been since they noticed a strange smell from a Toyo? 6 months? 6 years? Just wondering if people are avoiding Toyos for a reason that no longer exists.

Gaetan- first off to really know if you can use the 11R-22.5, get your bus weighed in full travelling form. In general, 14 ply 11R-22.5 will be good for 12,000lb on the steering or tag axle and 21,200 on the drive axle. Good Luck, TomC

Gaetan- I'll repeat myself-you do NOT use the weights off the manufacturers plate. You have to actually weigh the bus in full travelling form to see what it weighs. My manufacturers plate says I need to run 12R-22.5, but I run 11R-24.5's since they are a bit higher with no problem. In fact my bus is rated at 13,000 front, and 23,000lb rear, but weighs 10,500lb front and 20,500lb rear. So I only run 90psi in the tires all around, and it rides very well. Good Luck, TomC

A month ago at Busn'USA there was a seminar on tires by a tire distributor. He said all tires should be at 100psi minimum. I raised my hand and said that the MCI 102D3 that I look after for the hockey team is at 105psi steers, 85 drives and 75 tags, by the MCI book and also specified on the plate in the stair well. He said it's not enough. Several people attenting agreed with him. I also said that I kept 80 psi in my converted coach's tires according to the tire manufacturer's recommendations per the axle weights. He said no, they should be at a hundred min.. His reasoning was better safe than sorry, better mileage, etc. When I got home, I called MCI's tech support and they stuck to their guns saying their recommendations for tire inflation was based on GAVW. That's what I still go by for both buses. I have checked tire temps on the freeway at 110 F ambient and they were fine. I like the softer ride and the increased traction in the winter. This has been hotly debated before and will again. I'm in the softer tire tent...

I am with you on the pressure. Have you ever measured the temp across the tire on the front? My info is that and under inflated tire will have higher temps on the edges than in the center. Reverse for over inflated. I would add that I would run the highest pressures I could without damaging the tire or getting too harsh a ride. Higher is cooler and Less roll resistance.

2 cents,

John

« Last Edit: July 26, 2008, 11:55:28 AM by JohnEd »

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"An uneducated vote is a treasonous act more damaging than any treachery of the battlefield.The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”—Pla

JC- That tire distributor saying those kinds of things about running a minimum of 100psi really upsets me, in that he is supposed to be the expert, but luckily he was standing up so he wasn't mumbling. When I sell a SportChassis (oversized Freightliner pickup truck), they call for rear tire pressure at 75 and front at 85-and that's approved from Michelin. PLEASE only pay attention to the tire manufacturers tire inflation charts for your specific tire, based on the true weight of the bus, and nothing else. Anything more or less is just guess work-and do you want to play that game with $2-3000 worth of tires? Good Luck, TomC

When Firestone was having all the bad press about their Wilderness tires failing on the Ford Explorers I ran down to my Firestone dealer which by the way looked like a ghost town and bought a set of five new Wilderness tires for my Ford F100. For what its worth I have only just recently replaced them after all these years. I have to say they were one of the best set of tires I ever owned. I replaced them with Firestone again. FWIW.